Science with Sabine

What if we could harness the power of photons to process information? We can! It's called photonic computing. It's one of the new approaches to quantum computing - and it's looking more and more likely that it could be the key to make quantum computers work. It's not the only newcomer. In this video, we'll take a look at photonic computing and two other newcomers: optical tweez...

Today we’ll talk about the Nobel Prize in physics, yet another superconductor retraction, whether Integrated Information theory is pseudoscience, why antimatter doesn’t anti-gravitate, sand that flows uphill which I swear has nothing to do with antigravity, the world’s most powerful X-ray laser, how life could come about on other planets, why we might go extinct sooner than expected, and of course...

Today we talk about raisins. Yes, raisins. Quasars with dark matter halos, pink diamonds, the last moments of a dying satellite, a new type of qubit, maybe, how to measure the length of the day with lasers, a new treatment method for brain cancer that’s got something to do with quantum mechanics, whether climate change drives migration, and of course, the telephone will ring. The quiz for this epi...

If people knew one thing about Steven Weinberg, it’d be a quote from one of his books: “The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.” In this episode, I want to speculate about what he might have meant. Is the universe pointless?

Today we talk about the possibly first evidence for life on an exoplanet, with some caveats, chaos at the centre of the Milky Way, earthquake lights, a really old rock, noise cancellation for qubits, good news about air pollution, wifi that can see through walls, origami robots, the 2024 Breakthrough Prizes, and of course, the telephone will ring.

Today I talk about how we talk, or how we communicate information on social media in general. Why is it so difficult to communicate on social media, what’s a parasocial relationship, and what are the problems with it? Interestingly enough, it's a question that scientists have studied.

Today we talk about a bubble of galaxies, a climate scientist who made his own paper worse, double magic oxygen, a chemical reaction slowed down 100 billion times, Maxwell’s demon in biology, intelligent life on earth, the launch of a new X-ray space mission, drone racing, and of course the telephone will ring.

What is web3? I've tried to figure it out and here is my summary of what I have learned about NFTs and cryptocurrencies, about dapps and defi and blockchains, and all that.

I’ve noticed that a lot of scientists on social media make jokes about people who do their own research. This has been going on ever since COVID and it’s only been getting worse. We’re now at the point where they’re claiming you’re only allowed to talk about a topic if you’re an expert yourself. Don’t you dare commenting on anything you don’t have a PhD in! I think this nonsense has been going on...

Today we talk about superchemistry, music in the brain, how to create matter from light, contrails, objects that take strange turns, why phone batteries might soon become replaceable, how to control fire, why we have to think about preventing hurricanes, and of course, the telephone will ring.

I've seen a lot of headlines recently that we supposedly have a mental health crisis. Some say it's global, some refer to specific countries, the USA, Spain, Australia. What is going on? In this episode we collect all the numbers and see what we can make of them.

Today we talk about the muon anomaly at Fermilab, say good-bye to LK99, hear from scientists who say that sun is brighter than we thought, look at a new ion trap, talk about talk about a cold blob, plans for a new space station, delay with NASA’s trip to the moon, freeze rays, the smallest traffic light ever, and of course, the telephone will ring.

In the past 10 years or so, tech specialists have repeatedly voiced concerns that the progress of computing power will soon hit the wall. Miniaturisation has physical limits, and then what? Have we reached these limits? Is Moore’s law dead? That’s what we’ll talk about today.

Today I have an update on the reproduction efforts for the supposed room temperature superconductor, LK 99, the first images from the Euclid mission, more trouble with Starlink satellites, first results from a new simulation for cosmological structure formation, how to steer drops with ultrasound, bacteria that make plastic, an improvement for wireless power transfer, better earthquake warnings, a...

You've heard physicists say that we know new physics is out there. You've also heard them say that there's no data in conflict with either Einstein's theories or the standard model. So what gives? I will explain the situation with the mass of the Higgs-boson, dark matter and dark energy, neutrino-masses, the matter-antimatter asymmetry, and quantum gravity.

Today we’ll talk about the new superconductor claim, bad news for new physics, a quantum radar, how to print origami, space-based solar power for a moon station, a dire prediction for the collapse of an ocean circulation, Europe’s first hyperloop test, why NASA shoots lasers at the rain forest, and of course, the telephone will ring.

Many companies try to appear environmentally friendly without making a real difference, a strategy that’s been dubbed “greenwashing”. So, is calling a product or service “eco-friendly” just a ploy of companies to get more money out of us? What are the consequences for climate change? And how can we spot those fake claims?

Today we’ll talk about Einstein, who was right again, metals that heal, a new type of stellar object, a quantum drum, how conscious awareness comes about, maybe, a better way to tell apart alien signals from boring human signals, a hot spot on the moon, illegal trade of hazardous chemicals, and of course, the telephone will ring!

Have you ever taken a personality test? I certainly did. Recently I began wondering what the Myers Briggs and Big Five tests actually tell me. Is there science behind those tests? Or are they just better horoscopes? In this video, I'll tell you what I've found. You can watch the video that accompanies this audio here .

Today we’ll fly 13 billion years back in time, talk about dark stars, quantum payments, the efficiency of solar cells, rubber that counts, a biodiversity cycle, scientists who shoot lasers at lava, how to dissolve plastic, and of course, the telephone will ring. For the time being, our podcast is the audio of a video, so on occasion there are references to visuals. You can watch the video here .